Did You Have Pi Today?

Thousands of years ago, the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Chinese and Greeks all discovered that when the distance around a circle is divided by the circle's diameter, the answer is always the same number.  We call it. "pi."

Today is the day we sit around and eat pie and think about how we'd like to be mathematicians - but we can't because we're - you know - female.

But the truth is, women have always been capable of doing "math."  In fact, women were some of our first "computers."  One hundred or so years ago a "computer" was a person who examined data and performed calculations.

And, in the late 1800s Edward Pickering, faced with the massive task of cataloging all of the stars in the sky, chose to hire women instead of men.  They were later called the "Harvard Computers."

So, to celebrate pi day, look up these four Harvard Computers:  Williamina Fleming, Antonia Maury, Annie Jump Cannon and Henrietta Leavitt.

And maybe, if you feel like it, bake a square pie.


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